New River chief ranger advising Chinese park system

World Bank-sponsored program offering technical support

By Steve Keenan

GLEN JEAN, WV — For now, Gary Hartley has a new home.

And he’s hoping to be able to leave behind a little bit of West Virginia when he departs his temporary digs.

Hartley, who’s served as the chief ranger for the New River Gorge National River in Glen Jean the past seven years, is about a week into a three-week stay (two weeks work, one week pleasure) in the Guizhou Province in south central China. Hartley and two other National Park Service employees are in China at the request of the Chinese government, and the World Bank-sponsored program will offer technical assistance to the Chinese related to that government’s attempts to bolster the national park system.

“They’re developing areas as national and provincial parks,” Hartley explained prior to his departure. “Under the strict communist regime of the past, the country wasn’t open to visitors, but with the recent embrace of capitalism, they’re experiencing many more visitors.

“They’re trying to capitalize on that and promote tourism in the rural areas.”

Enter Hartley and his two traveling companions, who underwent a rigorous qualifying procedure to be chosen for the trip. Also participating are the superintendent of Canyon de Chelly National Monument Area and a park planner from a national park in Denali, Alaska.

“I’ve learned so much about the Chinese culture in the last month; it’s been a really eye-opening and educational experience,” Hartley said. “I’ve already learned a lot of good techniques and practices.

“They’re very much into sustainability and promoting eco-tourism. They hope to improve the economic conditions and, at the same time, manage tourism to protect the area.”

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Guizhou is a relatively poor and undeveloped province, according to www.wikipedia.com. Its economy is inferior to the coastal provinces.

The natural industry includes timber and forestry. Other important industries include energy (electricity generation) and mining, especially coal, limestone, arsenic, gypsum and oil-shale, wikipedia.com says.

The province is home to a large number of ethnic groups, including the Miao and Dong.

One of the main tourist spots is the Huangguoshu Waterfall, the biggest in China. It is over 223 feet high and 276 feet across.

According to wikipedia. com, there is a drum tower in the Dong village of Zhaoxing, southern Guizhou, and the province has many covered bridges, which were built by the Dong.

And, Hartley says, the province also has “dramatic landscapes and caves.”

“This province is supposed to have excellent whitewater rafting (in the Kiyang Gorge and the Maling Gorge),” Hartley added.

A lure of the trip for Hartley, an avid photographer who has had his work shown in numerous publications, is the chance to photograph all that the province has to offer.

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The American trio will tour the various areas with officials from the Chinese government, then make recommendations and suggestions for management of natural and cultural features of the province. Lastly, they will make a presentation to about 200 members of the Chinese government.

They will also explore the possibility of nominating the province to be selected as a World Heritage Site.

Hartley, a 29-year NPS employee, feels his varied work background enabled him to land his first international assignment with the NPS. In addition to his involvement with a major rafting destination, he also has several years experience working with tribes at the Pecos Indian Ruins in Sante Fe, N.M. “That’s a good combination,” he said.

He, too, was named as the 2003 National Land Manager of the Year by the Access Fund, a major climbing association.

“I’m looking forward to exploring another culture and hopefully making contributions to preserving that culture,” Hartley said.

— E-mail: skeenan@fayettetribune.com

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